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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Apr 5, 2005 19:30:38 GMT -5
The MSF is being done in phases because a lack of cash in hand. The Unviersity's fundraising priorities are with the business school, and most of the fundraising for MSF has focused solely on football and lacrosse alumni. It should be the case but that's not the facts. Only 20% of the FY2004 donor base (when posted on GUHoyas.com) now gives to men's basketball. The crew and football donors combined are close to exceeding basketball. The crew team won't be using the MSF. The fact you cited still doesn't refute my point, and it isn't even true. Football and the crew club combined to raise about $460,000 in the 2003-2004 school year, and the HHC tops 600K. Add in that these sports are involved in facilities upgrades, and we can imagine that they are distorted upward. When I say donor base, I also refer to the people who have not been contacted by the HHC. As last year's petition attested, there are thousands of alums who are passionate about GU basketball. Any guesses as to how many received a solicitation from the HHC? Well, no more than roughly 4000 minus 1 because I never got a thing. How many would give money if asked? I would, but I have not been asked directly. So, we're up to at least 1 right there. We can also look at the strength of support clubs. The Gridiron Club raised about $250,000 last year. Crease Club is at $140,000, Crosse Club at $68,000, Goals Unlimited at $145,000, Hat Trick at $8,000. Add them all together, and we're on par with men's basketball. Imagine what the HHC would look like if there was a stronger effort to recruit new donors. (Source: GUHoyas Support Club Pages). Now, I don't want to take anything away from the HHC because they carried the ball for HB for most of the season. I appreciate their efforts to build a rapport with most of the students, but I think an equally strong effort needs to be made toward the alumni out there in Hoyaland. Not all of them are lost. |
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Apr 5, 2005 19:36:51 GMT -5
There are plenty of solictations that go to alumni. I don't know for sure, but I suspect the reason you personally haven't gotten a mailer or something is related to the fact that you are a current student, regardless of what address you list. I don't think they are that sophisticated in their methods. If anyone signed the petition last year, please chime in to say whether you received a solicitation. I'd be shocked if anyone did in the sense that they received a targeted solicitation that paid lip service to the facilities issues and that capitalized on the JT3 hire/Esh fire. Point taken on current students. No doubt, more still needs to be done, but kudos to the HHC for getting the ball rolling this season. My comments in this thread are, to a certain extent, abrasive. Rest assured that I will be a HHC donor when I have a regular income, but I am trying to identify ways in which the HHC could expand the donor base. |
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DanMcQ
Moderator 
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Post by DanMcQ on Apr 5, 2005 19:38:51 GMT -5
My comments in this thread are, to a certain extent, abrasive.  Don't sell yourself short, big fella!  |
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DFW HOYA
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by DFW HOYA on Apr 5, 2005 19:43:17 GMT -5
We are preaching to the choir.
Is the HHC the largest club? Yes. Is the Hoop Club larger than all the clubs potentially using the MSF combined (FB, men's and women's lax, men's and women's soccer)? It'd be close but not a mandate.
Why have Gridiron, GRA, and Crease Club donors increased over the years while HHC has, for many years remained flat? I think one problem the HHC has long had is not that they can't recruit outside DC (certainly, other clubs do), but there is no tangible benefit to market outside DC if the only benefit is seating.
A gift to Gridiron, GRA, Crease Club, etc. is communciated as having a direct value to those programs. Basketball has not effectively made the case why you should give $25 vs. $250 vs. $25,000 to the program if you are not buying season tickets.
Yes, the HHC needs to reach new donors, including their own sport's alumni. The HHC has to make the case why giving to basketball is important right now.
If it is important, let's hear about it. If it's not, the numbers will decline.
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Apr 5, 2005 19:45:43 GMT -5
Don't sell yourself short, big fella! Everyone's a comedian. ;D As I've told you elsewhere, I prefer reform right now to anything else, and I will spare nothing to identify things that can be improved. If that involves not saying the "right things," so be it. A former coach proved that a lot of good can come out of saying the wrong things. The fact that nothing came of the 4000 signatures on the petition is quite telling, IMO. |
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Apr 5, 2005 19:48:07 GMT -5
We are preaching to the choir. Is the HHC the largest club? Yes. Is the Hoop Club larger than all the clubs potentially using the MSF combined (FB, men's and women's lax, men's and women's soccer)? It'd be close but not a mandate. Why have Gridiron, GRA, and Crease Club donors increased over the years while HHC has, for many years remained flat? I think one problem the HHC has long had is not that they can't recruit outside DC (certainly, other clubs do), but there is no tangible benefit to market outside DC if the only benefit is seating. A gift to Gridiron, GRA, Crease Club, etc. is communciated as having a direct value to those programs. Basketball has not effectively made the case why you should give $25 vs. $250 vs. $25,000 to the program if you are not buying season tickets. Yes, the HHC needs to reach new donors, including their own sport's alumni. The HHC has to make the case why giving to basketball is important right now. If it is important, let's hear about it. If it's not, the numbers will decline. Good consensus post. I agree 100%. The keys are (i) communications to new folks, while maintaining the existing donors and (ii) bringing as many people as possible into the fold. |
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Apr 5, 2005 20:59:19 GMT -5
I would be shocked too, given that no one asked for addresses or email addresses from all those brave petition-signers, thus no way of soliciting them.
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Apr 5, 2005 21:14:51 GMT -5
They could easily use the alumni directory to find e-mail addresses or home addresses. It took me a minute, and I already pulled up full information online for one of the signers. While it would take time to identify everyone, I feel that it would have been a worthwhile endeavor.
If you disagree with the aims of the petition, that is fine. Many people agreed with half of it even if they didn't sign it because of their preference for keeping Esherick around. Just because folks disagree with perhaps the institution does not mean that they should not be targeted.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Apr 5, 2005 21:43:43 GMT -5
My point is that whoever started the petition to fire Esherick missed an opportunity to make people put their money where their mouth is when he did not collect that type of information. I disagree with the means of the petition, not the end it sought- I wanted a new coach too, but I don't believe that is the type of decision that should be made by plebiscite and I think the petition had almost nothing to do with the decision to change coaches. I saw plenty of people, friends of mine, who signed that petition who are great at complaining about the Hoyas but will never give money to the Hoya Hoop Club.
I am not involved in HHC fundraising in any way, but if I was I can assure you I would not waste my time trying to track down those 4,000+ malcontents. If they had signed a petition that said they would like to support the basketball program financially but they could not do so under the current leadership, and given their contact information as a part of that pledge to back up their commitment, then maybe I could see those signatures as meaningful comments from people with a stake in the program. As it was done, that petition was all too easy to sign and not worth the proverbial virtual paper it was printed on.
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Apr 5, 2005 21:53:24 GMT -5
In many respects, I agree with you. In defense of the web designers, they may not have had the resources to collect all of that information, although I know little about web design. I do have a question. Isn't it more unseemly to use monetary pledges as a coercive or compellant instrument than not? In my view, it might be. Another issue is a legal one. DFW mentioned last year how collection of $ or boosting through non-school resources was frowned upon by the NCAA and was stopped at Villanova in one prior situation. While the situations may not be analogous, you might run into the same problems with something like what you propose. At the same time, the University has shown no interest in raising money for the McD renovations, so the pledge would be a non-starter in the sense that folks could not contribute to what the petition seeks.
While you know your friends and their proclivities, I would hesitate to make generalizations that apply across the board. During the letter-writing campaign, I was contacted by some people who, through someone or another, were intimately connected to the history of the program. Still others you might find in the first two rows of the student section. So, I hesitate to call these people malcontents. Somewhere along the line, GU lost some of these people, and GU bears some responsibility for it. It is a shame that more of an effort was not made to bring them back into the fold, but maybe some of them did so on their own.
At the same time, I think the administration did take some notice to all of these efforts. When is the last time that 4000 alums united to do anything? That said, your analysis of its effect is probably on the mark because there has not been any public movement on the McD issue.
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hoya01
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Post by hoya01 on Apr 5, 2005 22:57:37 GMT -5
Question: Say I have $250 I will donate next year to the Hoya Hoop Club (I live in Southern California so seating preference is not of concern to me.) Would I, and others like me, be better supporting the long-term future of the program by donating half that to the HHC and half to support the MSF? My assumption obviously is that once construction for the MSF is fully funded, the renovation of McD moves to the forefront.
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tgo
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Post by tgo on Apr 6, 2005 15:32:49 GMT -5
to clarify something posted earlier in this thread, and i am surprised Nevada hasnt chimed in to do this himself, but the track program is still getting the shaft, GU is working on a track that will not be a real track and will not be able to hold meets. a disgrace for what has been consistently the most successful sports program at GU for decades.
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CAHoya07
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Post by CAHoya07 on Apr 6, 2005 19:51:04 GMT -5
to clarify something posted earlier in this thread, and i am surprised Nevada hasnt chimed in to do this himself, but the track program is still getting the shaft, GU is working on a track that will not be a real track and will not be able to hold meets. a disgrace for what has been consistently the most successful sports program at GU for decades. Yes, truly shameful. We need a REAL track at Georgetown, maybe even more than we need a new McDonough. This should be done on top of Kehoe, though I've heard there used to be one and there were drainage issues. I still think it's definitely possible, but if not, find some land (eek) around Reservoir and build a real, 400-meter track there, not any of this weird distance garbage. |
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Apr 6, 2005 19:52:47 GMT -5
It's really sad, because my HIGH SCHOOL has a gorgeous $3M + track.
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Apr 6, 2005 20:07:11 GMT -5
We need a REAL track at Georgetown, maybe even more than we need a new McDonough. Wouldn't go that far, but it's definitely needed. Major problems with Kehoe, and not just for track. The land around Western HS (38th and Reservoir) cannot hold more than a 1/5 mile track. |
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Apr 6, 2005 20:08:35 GMT -5
Heard Kehoe had a life of 30 years...and it hit that birthday a bit ago.
True?
And would we consider flattening it?
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GUHoya07
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Post by GUHoya07 on Apr 6, 2005 20:09:39 GMT -5
And would we consider flattening it? You mean including Yates? |
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Apr 6, 2005 20:21:11 GMT -5
You mean including Yates? Yeah, I meant the Yates/Kehoe combo...from what I understand, it wasn't built to last. That kind of setup is the best use of space, but I don't know how useful the field is when not on real ground. |
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HoyaSAXA
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Post by HoyaSAXA on Apr 6, 2005 20:58:33 GMT -5
wait is so that georgetown baketball can play more games there? if it is why? Why do u all want to go in that direction, we all want gtown to be good again, a top 25 team some day, if we move them into playing in mcdounough thats not going to happen. why would u want to play in a small, compact, no accomidations arena? why? we get more money at MCi? play on campus? why does it matter. drive a car into the 'very far' away DC. or take the buses. i just dont understand.
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hoya01
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Post by hoya01 on Apr 6, 2005 21:06:43 GMT -5
HoyaSaxa - Please go back and read any thread on this board that has "McD" in the title or better yet, search on DFW's comments and you will see all of the very convincing reasons for an on-campus arena.
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